Exclusive
by swimming-toon-lover
Summary: After winning her 2nd Grand Festival in a rather unconventional way, May can no longer avoid the hounding of Pokemon Magazine's lead reporter. She finally agrees to tell the story of the year that led up to her win, including she and Drew changing the contest world, and the final battle that left the world buzzing with curiosity. Three-Shot. Contestshipping.
1. Chapter 1

**So there are a few things I want to say about this before I let you go on. First and foremost, for anyone who cared enough to favorite me all those years ago and then never heard from me again…I'm sorry. There is a very long winded explanation I could give but for now, let's just chalk it up to life. (Also, if you're one of my TT people, well, hope you like Pokémon too?)**

 **Secondly, I wrote this fic back in 2011. FOUR FREAKING YEARS AGO. It was probably the last thing I got out before the whole "life" thing, and I stopped writing. I've always loved it. Seriously. As I was reading through it and I remembered the amount of research I put into the battles I was blown away but how much I used to care about this stuff.**

 **So is it outdated? Definitely. Is it still a little on the sloppy side? You betcha. But I'm going to put it up anyway, for 2011 me who loved this piece so much, but didn't love herself enough anymore to get it out there.**

 **I hope you all like it as much as she did.**

May looked around the room, dawdling before throwing herself to the wolves. Ok, so maybe that was a little bit dramatic, but she still didn't want to do this. She set out to become a coordinator, not some celebrity. Who wanted to read about her life anyway? All she ever did was train and compete; and eat of course. She took a deep breath.

'Right, nothing to worry about.' she told herself. She took a step forward into the large warehouse where her photo shoot was to take place. Her eyes roved nervously around until she found a snack table. She grinned and headed straight for it. She had just stuffed a large doughnut into her mouth when she heard someone call her name.

"Oh May darling!" May turned to face the reason for her being here, Katja, the Hoenn region's ace reporter and recently instated editor in chief of _Pokémon_ magazine. She had called May and begged her to come in and be on the cover, May had refused. She had kept calling, and May kept refusing. Finally, Katja had attended the last Grand Festival and cornered May, who, based on the events of said Grand Festival, had no real choice but to finally agree. Though, May reasoned, she had little real claim to credit the cover.

Now she spun around, doughnut still hanging out of her mouth, to face the small but intimidating woman with a severe blonde hair cut and sharp blue eyes. Katja's wide smile faltered as she took in the now 22 year old brunette. May coughed out the half of pastry and smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, Katja! I'm sorry, I wasn't sure which building I was going to and-"

"Sweetheart, it's fine. Here, here, we'll get the interview out of the way while you're in hair and make-up, then you can do your shoot and we'll be all set. I'm so glad you finally agreed. You're such a fascinating girl, and that Grand Festival...wow!" May blushed and tried to make herself smaller, and stuffed her hands into her pockets, wishing that she hadn't given up her gloves.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I-"

"Don't be modest! There are girls who would kill to be you!" May blushed, and rolled her eyes at the familiar expression...one she had been followed by from the age of ten. "C'mon now dear, let's get you glamed up." Katja reached for May's hand, but May left them in her pockets, choosing just to walk along behind her.

"Sharp one." Katja laughed. May smiled weakly. "Have a seat here." Katja indicated a make-up chair and May stared at the room wide-eyed.

"This is all for me?" she asked, a grin starting to spread across her face. Scared of talking to Katja she may be, but May could not be more excited about dressing up and taking pictures. Katja had planned well, it would be hard for May to watch what she was saying while she was so distracted.

"All for you honey." Katja grinned impishly for a moment. "Here, meet the team. This is Claret, your make-up artist." May smiled and nodded at Claret, whom she was not entirely sure was a man or woman, "Sasha, who will be doing your wardrobe," May switched her gaze to the girl with incredibly long pink hair and warm brown eyes, "and finally Jsuhon, the best hair-stylist in all the regions." A man with dark purple hair and eyes, and a rather severe expression stepped forward.

"I have wanted to get my hands on that hair for years." he declared fiercely. May grabbed at one of the pigtail like halves of her hair. She had grown it out over the last few years, so that it now looked closer to an a-line. She had been meaning to change it lately, but years?

"Uh, ok." she said slowly.

"Sit, sit." Katja insisted, pushing May into the chair. "We'll start with Jsuhon." Katja waved him over. "And we can start our little chat."

May gulped as Katja brought out a shiny pink tape recorder She pushed her hands deeper into her pockets and closed her eyes briefly, remembering the promise she had made earlier that day.

"Okay." she said as she opened her eyes. Her blue bandana was already gone, and Jsuhon was already running a brush through brown tangles. "So, let's start off easy. You've been a coordinator for many years, 12 correct?" May nodded.

"Vocal please darling." Katja corrected.

"Oh, yes." May amended.

"And no nodding." Jsuhon added. May glanced at him guiltily through the mirror.

"So, that's a long time, you must have met some interesting people along the way." Katja prodded. May barely noticed.

"Uh, yeah. How are you getting it to be all one piece?" she asked Jsuhon, who was somehow molding her mostly two piece hair style into a single, normal look.

"Extensions and mousse." Jsuhon answered simply, not looking up. Katja clucked her tongue, regaining May's attention.

"Of course. Well why don't you tell us about how you got started." May tried not to roll her eyes again. If she had a ribbon for every time she'd answered that question over the last 12 years she'd never have to compete in another contest. Still, it could be worse.

"Well, my dad is a gym leader, so I of course was sent out on my journey when I was 10, but all I wanted to do was travel the world; I didn't like Pokémon. Then I met Ash, then Brock, and they helped me start to like them, and then I saw my first contest, and the rest is history." May said quickly. Her eyes widened as Jsuhon began clipping the wavy piece of fake hair onto her head.

"That is amazing!" she said excitedly. Katja sensed her chance.

"So this Ash, that's Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum right? You two traveled around together for quite some time." she began slyly, but even distracted by her newly almost flowing locks, May wasn't going to be backed into this corner.

"Yeah, but I wasn't around as long as Misty, and Brock and my brother Max were there too. It was nice having a mentor early on, but the time came where I needed to sink or swim without them, so I went my own way. Can I touch it?" she questioned, looking up at Jsuhon through the mirror again.

He stepped back and nodded and May brought her hands up slowly. She ran her fingers down the shoulder length mass and sighed. She hadn't had long hair on the back of her head since she was 5 years old. Then she realized her mistake and froze, fingers still tangled in her fake hair. She looked slowly to her right, where Katja was sitting with a sly and somewhat malicious smile on her face.

"Did I just see something sparkle there my dear?" she asked dangerously. May had to think fast now. She had thought she was being cautious and clever before, but now her preparations were falling apart. Well, not her preparations exactly, but she had been the one who couldn't stop herself wearing the darn thing.

 _Try switching hands_! she thought frantically, glad she had not had time to get it sized yet. _Here goes nothing_. She used her thumb to pull the ring on her left hand onto her right.

"Oh, yes, just an early birthday present from a good friend." she said with a huge and not entirely convincing smile as she pulled her hands free. Katja's face fell slightly, but only for a moment.

"Wow, must be some friend to give you so elaborate a birthday gift." she purred suggestively. May looked down at the bauble now on her right hand, where it felt very out of place. The large diamond set with small rose rubies cut to look like roses around it twinkled back up at her from the bright lights of the make-up mirror.

"Well, it was a group gift actually," she invented wildly, "and it's not quite as expensive as it looks." she cringed a little as she said that. She hated to think about how much the thing had to have cost.

"Must be nice to have friends like that." Katja said. May instantly started beaming as Jsuhon walked away to be replaced by Claret.

"I have the best friends anyone could ask for, now that a lot of us are settling into one place. It was really hard all those years when we weren't together. Ash was always all over the place, and the same with Dawn. Brock went off to become a doctor, and Misty was stuck in Cerulean City. That's why video phones and pokegear and what not are so great. Ooh, what's that?" May squealed as Claret sprayed something onto a foam triangle.

"Foundation." Claret said shortly. Hearing Claret talk did little to persuade May to man or woman, but she decided, based on her past experiences in this matter, to go with man for the sake of simplification.

"Oh." she said. She had very rarely worn make-up, and when she did, it had not sprayed out of a can. Katja cleared her throat as Claret began to smooth the stuff onto May's face.

"But you always had _one_ friend with you." she prompted. May's cheeks turned red again and she giggled nervously.

"Of course I haven't." she said. "I was with Ash, Brock and Max, then I was on my own for awhile, then I was with Solidad, Harley and Drew, then just Drew, then Dawn and...well no one person has been through it all." May finished her sentence in a rush.

"Keep your eyes still." Claret ordered.

"Oh, sorry." May said sheepishly as Claret got back to work.

"And of course all that support has gotten me to where I am today." May concluded.

"Yes, quite an impressive resume it is. Two Grand Festival titles, six top three finishes, and a total of 50, and a half, ribbons over six regions. Only one person has a better record." Katja said.

"Yeah, but I'm gaining on him." May said absentmindedly with a smirk, a habit she had begrudgingly picked up.

"How has that particular relationship helped you develop?" Katja asked. "And you look stunning by the way." she added. May blinked as she gazed into the mirror.

Her blue eyes were bright and huge, framed by what she assumed must be fake lashes, because she couldn't imagine that her own could be that thick. Her cheeks were a healthy rose, which admittedly had a lot to do with Katja's question. Her lips were pink and plump and she opened and closed them experimentally.

"Well, obviously, I've known Drew from right around my first ever contest in Slateport City. He was the most arrogant and annoying person I had ever met, and he had the most backhanded way of trying to help me get better. But he gave me a goal to pursue and a model to follow and soon I was good enough to be a real rival to him. He's done a lot to get me where I am, and I'm grateful for that." May stared down at her hands, a small smile playing across her mouth.

"Well, it's wardrobe time, why don't you walk with me?" May stood to follow Katja, and her smile grew at the prospect of playing dress up.

"Would you say you've been able to become a role model for others like all those people were to you?" Katja continued.

"Well, I'd like to hope that I'm a figure that young coordinators can look up to, but there is one story that stands out to me in particular. It was a girl named Brianna. The first time I met her, she was set on beating me in a contest to impress Drew of all people. I don't know that I did much to get through to her until I beat her, and she had two reasons to become stronger. Then I saw her again two years later. She had done a lot to become stronger, but she still had a lot to learn. Her goal was to beat me, and having a rival does a lot, but her main drive was still to impress Drew."

May paused and scowled at Katja, who was smirking.

"Anyway," she pressed on, "I used the things I had learned to help her realize that your drive has to come from wanting to be there for your Pokémon and having a great give and take relationship. That's how you grow, you grow as your Pokémon do." May stopped talking and walking. Her mouth dropped open as she took in the racks of clothing before her.

"Oh...my..." she breathed.

"Yeah, yeah, stunning really." Sasha said, sounding agitated, as she stepped out from behind a rack. "Come with me, outfit number one." she hitched a few hangers onto her fingers and strode toward a large screen. May followed behind her in a mesmerized way.

"Here, change." Sasha said, thrusting the clothes at May. She took them and obediently began to undress, eyeing Sasha, who was now on the other side of the screen. She obviously wasn't as warm and nice as she looked.

"So May, I guess now we've come to the question you knew I was going to ask." May sighed heavily as she pulled a rather tight green tank top over her head. "You've got to tell me all about that Grand Festival." Katja said breathlessly. May stepped out from behind the screen. She was now wearing a form fitting green tank top with a white cap sleeve cut off jacket. Her traditional fanny pack was replaced by a loose fitting green belt. Sasha had also put her in a black skirt with purple in the pleats and green tennis shoes. May scowled a little.

"I miss my bandana." she said sulkily. Sasha reappeared then, with something green and folded held out toward May.

"It does not go on your head, this hat does." she held out a green stocking cap, "but you can put it right here." Sasha grabbed May's arm and tied the cloth around her bicep.

"Also, the ring doesn't match, take it off." May looked up quickly from admiring the new way to wear her old head covering.

"But, but, I don't have..." May stuttered.

"Fanny pack, it'll be fine." May glanced down at the ring hesitantly before sliding the sparkly bauble off her right and setting it reluctantly and reverently into a small front pocket of her fanny pack.

"May, please, I'm dying to hear about this. It was such an event to witness, and people are simply clamoring to get the insider perspective."

"I would actually really like to hear about it. No one has ever done that before." Sasha added.

"And I really wish he hadn't." May groaned. "Ok, I'll give you the story, but you can't interrupt me, and you have to know that I won't tell you everything." Katja nodded and held up her tape recorder.

"Tell Friedrich that he's going to have to wait." she called over her shoulder. A random assistant scurried off. "Go ahead dear." May took a deep breath.

"Ok, well it started when I won my fifth ribbon..."

 **So, this was really more of a prologue than anything else. It gets much quicker as we go on. Good news is the whole thing is finished, so I'll put a piece up once a week. (It will probably be a three-shot). Again, thank you to anyone who read this, especially anyone who's been with me through the void. Please leave a review!**

 **STL**

 **(its been a long time since I typed that. It felt good** **)**


	2. Chapter 2

"And our big winner of the Wallace Cup, it's May! This is her 3rd Wallace Cup win, and I understand that this is also your fifth and final ribbon this season." May smiled graciously and nodded. "Well, here you go May." Wallace motioned to Milotic, who presented May with her aqua ribbon. May beamed and waved to the cheering crowd. This was great, but she really wanted to get off the stage and into the back room. Finally she got her chance and skipped her way through the hall.

"Way to go May, new record collecting your ribbons, but, still not as fast as me." A cool voice said from a place on the wall. May scowled.

"Is it really that hard to just complement me without also making it an insult?" she asked of the voice. It laughed and she could clearly picture the smirk that would be on the owners lips.

"Old habits." he said. The figure pushed itself off the wall and turned to face her with a familiar flick of his hair.

"Drew, you might just be the worst best friend ever." May said with a smile, moving toward him.

"Well, you picked me. You should have known what you were getting into." May laughed and abandoned all pretence, running straight at the now

22 year-old man. He was prepared for this familiar gesture and had his arms open to welcome her in.

"Yeah, well we both know how I can make dumb decisions." she said with sweet sarcasm. She looked up at Drew, who now towered over her own 5'6" and he looked down at her, still smirking.

"Well I guess I'm not a great influence, sticking around and condoning that terrible choice." May stepped back from Drew and stuck her tongue out at him. "Real mature May. Are we still ten?" May rolled her eyes at him, and then her stomach rumbled loudly.

"You're paying." Drew said, turning and walking toward the exit. May stared after him for a moment.

"Hey wait, I just won, that means your treat!" she shouted as she ran after him.

"See, this is why I don't buy when it's _your_ stomach growling." May glared at him from over her bowl, not bothering to halt her intake of noodles. Drew laughed at her, but he stopped quickly at the audible gasp that came from two tables over. He must have known without looking what kind of person, or people, would be sitting there, but he looked anyway, as did May. A group of three girls, one with blue hair, one blonde, and one red haired, sat there, staring at them. They had half amazed, half scandalized looks on their faces, and May rolled her eyes. She was used to this, but it was still a pain.

Every time people saw her with Drew, doing things not Pokémon related, they stared, and gawked, and questioned. They were both famous in their own right of course, but teenage girls were an entirely different breed of admirer, and they usually did not like May if they liked Drew. The difference in this situation was the awed amazement.

"You don't laugh." May mumbled. Drew looked at her, a question in his face. "They gasped because you were laughing, and you don't laugh in front of people." Drew stared at her.

"How do you even notice that?" he asked.

"I pay attention, and they're hard to miss." May said, jerking her head in the girls' direction.

"Sorry." Drew said, smiling at her.

"You don't smile, you smirk." May corrected. "And you can't control teenage girls. Don't apologize for hormones." she went back to her meal as Drew forced his face to go blank.

"Uh, check please." he said.

May and Drew walked in silence back toward the Pokémon Center. May was content in her own little world, but it was obvious something was bothering Drew.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. May stopped her humming and looked over at Drew.

"What?" she asked confusedly.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that the fangirls bother you so much?"

"Uh, what?" May repeated. "I tell you all the time how annoying they are."

"No May, I mean about how it bothers you that they don't seem to think of you as worthy of being around me." May gaped at him...and walked straight into a post along the path.

"May!" Drew shouted, looking at her starry eyed figure flat on the ground. "Are you ok?" he asked, choking back his laughter.

"You know how clumsy I am. You can't spring stuff like that on me while in motion! Help me up." she demanded as she stuck her hand forcefully toward him. He took it and pulled her up, losing his control and laughing openly at her.

"Well sorry, I didn't think you were still falling for me." May gave him a scandalized look and took her hand back to smack his.

"Will you just explain what you said?" she ordered, beginning to walk again.

"You can tell they are judging you and that bugs you." he elaborated. May stared at the pavement passing beneath her.

"Well, yeah, it does bug me, but they don't even know what they're judging. They think we're a couple, but they're wrong. They think I'm not good enough, but really, I'm better than you." she grinned up at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Is it so impossible for you to be serious?" he chastised her.

"It's not a serious issue Drew." she shrugged. "I've gotten over it."

"Then why do you notice all that stuff about the way I'm supposed to act? How do you realize I don't laugh or smile? What else am I not supposed to do?" May stopped walking, a little alarmed at the rising frustration in her friend's voice.

"Look, it's just stuff I've picked up over the years. You were the same way around me in the beginning, all smirks and demeaning chuckles, but the more I was around you, the more I realized that there's another you under all the mean. You've just been letting the human slip through a lot more lately, but no one else knows the real you, so they get confused." She took two steps forward, then turned back when Drew did not follow her.

"Drew?" she asked, gazing upon him in concern. He looked up at her, confusion burning in his emerald eyes.

"I'm...different." he said.

"It's called growing up Drew." May teased. Drew's face didn't change however. "Okay, can we get back now? I really want to take a shower." May whined.

"Yeah...sure." Drew started walking, but stayed a little behind May as she took off with a bit of a bounce in her step. She couldn't tell for sure, but it felt like he was just watching her go.

May and Drew spent the next four months traveling to appearances and training. Neither of them needed any more ribbons, and the Grand Festival was still three more months away. All that was left to do was train, and May was bored.

"Why can't we enter one? Just to stay sharp!" May rolled over onto her stomach in the grass beneath a large tree outside Twinleaf Town.

"May, how is that fair? You already have five ribbons. Just think about all those wide-eyed little coordinators who will have to win that very last contest of the season if they want to enter the Grand Festival." Drew smirked and May glared.

"Cheap shot." she hissed.

"But seriously though, do you want to be responsible for crushing some kid's dream, just because you were bored?" May frowned.

"Hey Drew, just curious, how many ribbons do you have? 'Who Counts?'" May mocked his young voice.

"Well you keep what you can from the competition. I never entered a contest with 5 ribbons." May rolled her eyes, still not sure she believed him.

"Oh, I know!" May shot up into a sitting position. "We can just forfeit before we win! That way we can still compete, but we won't beat anyone. C'mon Drew, we only need an appeal round, battling is so much easier to train." May beamed at Drew, convinced she had just come up with the most brilliant idea ever.

"May that is the dumbest idea ever." he said coolly.

"Well fine. Then we need something else to do. I can train against you all the time, but if we don't get some variety we're going to get our butts handed to us." Drew nodded.

"You do have a point there." he conceded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...I wonder how many others are in the same situation we are." he mused as he stood up and began to pace. "There have to be others, and...and, we can start a five ribbon contest!" he snapped his fingers and smiled. He whipped around to face May. She was frowning at him, and his smile faltered.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Why can't I ever come up with the good idea?" she pouted. Drew laughed.

"So you think it's a good idea?" he said. May glared up at him.

"Yes." she said sulkily. "Other than that I have no idea how you're going to pull that off." Drew pulled his pokegear out of his pocket.

"Babe, I'm Drew Hayden." he said suavely with a flick of his green bangs. May rolled her eyes and flopped back onto her stomach.

"That you are." she mumbled into the grass.

I can't believe you won't tell me where you got them to hold this contest." May complained as they stood in line for their ferry.

"It's a surprise." Drew said as he pulled the two tickets away from May, who was trying to sneak a peek.

"Well obviously it's not in Sinnoh." May deduced. "But this ferry has stops in Hoenn, Kanto and Johto!" she said in frustration. Drew smirked.

"Stop trying to figure it out May. Just enjoy the fact that you're going to see some old friends, and you'll get to compete in a contest without having to forfeit." May sighed resignedly.

"I still can't believe you pulled this off either." she said.

"Well I was right about it being a common problem. Mr. Contesta told me he was shocked no one else had come up with this before." Drew said with pride. May snorted at him, and he glowered down at her.

"Tickets please." the perky female attendant said as they reached the front of the line. Drew handed them over as the two stepped aboard, ignoring the girl's adoring smile.

Four hours later May stood perched on the railing watching her home region of Hoenn getting closer and closer.

"Good to be back isn't it?" Drew said softly as he came up behind her.

"Have you ever thought about how weird it would be if we really were prince and princess of Hoenn? We'd have to govern people and be all royal...and be related, and stuff..." May trailed off. Drew chuckled.

"You think about the craziest things." he said, sounding amused. May turned and stuck her tongue out at him.

"So we're getting off here?" she asked, nodding toward the shoreline.

"Yep." Drew said simply. May settled her face into her hands and rested her elbows on the railing.

"That doesn't narrow it down all that much." she sighed dejectedly. Drew patted her on the back.

"Seriously, you'll be a lot happier if you don't try and figure it out." he told her.

The two of them walked off the gangplank 20 minutes later, and May was in a much better mood now that she was sort of back home. While the small seaport was by no means Petalburg, it was still nice to be back in Hoenn.

"So now where to, oh fearless leader?" May said with a grin up at Drew.

"To that corner right there." Drew said. He smirked and pointed to a street corner across from them.

"Why tha- wait a minute..." May trailed off as she squinted toward the place. Someone was standing there and waving at her exuberantly. May kept staring and her face slowly changed as she recognized the girl.

"Dawn!" May shouted. She took off running toward her friend and Drew continued to smirk at her. He waited for a few moments, and watched the screaming jump hug before sauntering over himself.

"Glad you could make it Dawn." he said composedly. Dawn smiled up at him.

"I wouldn't miss a second of this for anything." she said slyly. Drew raised an eyebrow at her and May stared between the two of them.

"A second of what? It's just a contest." Dawn's blue eyes widened briefly.

"Oh, well, yeah, but it's like a pre-Grand Festival! All the best coordinators in the world will be there!" she said quickly. May's skeptical face broke into a wide grin.

"I know! But you have to know where it is, so tell me! He won't." she jabbed a finger at Drew, who looked very amused.

"I have been sworn to not say a word." Dawn said with nobility, drawing herself up. May hit Drew's arm.

"Hey! How is it my fault she listens to me?" he said indignantly.

"Why are you keeping secrets from me?" May wined, though she tried to look more mad, than simply annoyed that she was left out of the loop. Drew wasn't buying it.

"It's a surprise, not a secret. You'll figure it out soon enough. Honestly I kinda can't believe you haven't already." May puffed her face up and made a growling noise. She started to speak, but thought better of it. She turned on her heel and stormed away.

"Wait May, you don't even know where you're going!" Dawn called after her. May paused briefly, her right foot hanging in the air. Then her foot hit the ground and she continued walking.

"Just follow her, she'll get hungry soon and stop." Drew whispered to Dawn, though May still heard. She rolled her eyes, but then her stomach rumbled.

"You shut up." she told it, and she kept walking defiantly.

"Do I know you or what?" Drew said smugly just before biting into a rice ball. Dawn smiled at the boy, and then toward May, who was chewing a bite of her own food and glowering darkly at Drew.

"Yeah, but I didn't think she'd make it this far. It's a good thing she took the right road." Dawn said.

"You shouldn't want me to figure it out you know, if it's such a great surprise. We're probably only going back to Petalburg, but I mean, it's a gym town, and there's no contest hall so...seriously?" May stared at Drew, who was looking anywhere but at her.

"You're taking me _home_?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well, I've never actually been there before, and I thought it might be nice for me to see where you're from and for you to get to see home." Drew replied a little defensively. May continued to simply look at him, and Dawn watched the two of them warily. Then, May launched herself at Drew, tackling him to the ground. Dawn sat forward quickly.

"You are amazing! Organizing all of this in Petalburg just so I can go home!" she slapped him playfully on the arm and beamed down at him. Dawn sighed and relaxed as it became clear May's leap was not hostile.

"Well, I'm glad you approve." Drew said, his relief showing on his face...

(Click) May looked over toward the photographer.

"You are great when you're lost in the story love." he said.

"But you keep skipping around." Sasha complained. "One minute you're there, then it's four months later, and next thing you're home!" May smiled mischievously.

"I said I wasn't going to tell you everything." Sasha frowned.

"But I feel like you're leaving out the best parts." May grinned.

"Well I guess you'll never know." she said. She took a deep breath before continuing with her story.

"Alright, so we had just gotten into Petalburg, and were walking down the street that led to my father's gym..."

May ran in a full sprint at the doors, leaving her two best friends in the dust. She burst through the door.

"Mom, Dad I'm home!" she announced to the large lobby. No one answered her. She looked around the empty room curiously. "Where are they?" She wondered aloud.

"Uh, home maybe?" Drew's voice sounded from the door. May turned to see Dawn and Drew standing in the doorway. "It is after 7 you know." May smiled sheepishly at them.

"I knew that." she said. She strode past them and led the way to her family house behind the gym.

"It's all dark, they must have gone out for dinner or something." May said as she came to a stop at the door.

"May, it's your house, just go in and we can wait for them to come back." Drew said with the air of speaking to a five year old.

"Oh, right." she said. Dawn laughed. May rolled her eyes, pushed the door open and turned on the light.

"Surprise!"

May jumped back and landed in Drew's arms with a scream of fright. Around ten people had jumped out of hiding spots, and were now beaming at her, except her father, who was glaring down and May and Drew's fear induced embrace. Drew quickly pushed May back away from him and both of them turned bright red.

"Oh May honey, I'm so glad you're home!" May's mother, Caroline, gushed, rushing at her daughter and smothering her in a tight hug.

"Uh great to see you mom." May choked out. Caroline let May go and smiled at her. May peaked around her to get a good look at who was there.

First, her father who looked much happier now, was by the stairs; next to him was her little brother Max, who was now 19 years old and not really all that little. Solidad stood next to Harley, whom May still wasn't all that comfortable around despite the years that had gone by since their official truce in Johto. Then there was Brock, Brianna, Zoey, Kelly, and finally, in the farthest corner of the room,

"Ash!" May shouted as she pushed past Caroline.

"Hey there May, Dawn, Drew." Ash acknowledged each of them with a nod of his shaggy black haired, red-capped head.

"Pi Pikachu!" Ash's ever-present Pikachu squeaked happily from his shoulder. May shot a watery, but bright, smile back at Drew, who nodded, before she launched herself across the living room at her long lost friend.

"Ash I can't believe you're here." She mumbled into his shoulder. Ash patted her on the back.

"I know." he whispered soothingly. May pulled herself away from him.

"But how? I didn't think you were allowed out for a whole year, and why, it's been five years, I..." She stopped speaking as Ash smiled at her.

"I know it's been a long time. And it has been a full year already, actually." he explained. "I've been doing the Hoenn loop, and this seemed like the perfect chance to see the one person I haven't since they let me go." he grinned down at her. "So I got here as fast as I could as soon as I got the call from Drew." he looked over May's head at Drew and smiled at him.

"He went through a whole lot to do all this for you. I'd say he's a keeper now." Ash whispered to her.

"I know. He turned out pretty amazing didn't he?" she whispered back. Ash smiled a crooked smile down at her, but then something across the room caught his attention.

"Go see your brother, he has something he's dying to tell you." Ash said. May turned to go, but quickly turned back.

"Do you know what's really going on here? Dawn knows something, I can tell, but she won't admit it."

"Max." Ash said shortly. May frowned, but then followed his instructions and moved on to her brother, as Dawn swooped in to take her place by Ash and strike up a conversation.

"Hey Max!" she said brightly, hugging her brother tightly.

"May, guess what I just did!" he said excitedly, actually starting to bounce a little on the balls of his feet.

"What would that be?" she asked, grinning up at him, and getting a little annoyed that she had to keep looking up at people. When did they all get so tall?

"I just defeated the Hoenn battle frontier and accepted a position as a frontier brain!" he shouted. May stared at him in shock.

"No way! Max that's amazing!" she shouted back, though they were only feet apart. The siblings began jumping together, not paying attention to their audience.

"Yeah, I'm 'Max the Mansion Master.' They gave me a mansion outside of Mauville City and everything." May was out of words and instead squealed with delight. The bouncing hug came to a halt when Norman cleared his throat and everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"May, Max, it's great to have you two back here. You've both accomplished so much, and I'm so proud of both of you, but we don't get to see you nearly enough. So I'm very grateful to this young man over here," he indicated Drew, whose green eyes widened in shock, "for bringing my family back together, if only for a few days." He smiled at Drew, who still looked scared.

"Uh, no problem." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. May beamed at him.

"So is this a party or what?" Dawn piped up. Everyone looked at her.

"Yeah it is. Party!" May yelled, throwing her hands up into the air.

An hour later, as May and Dawn were dancing in the middle of the Maple's living room while everyone else stood around talking. May saw, out of the corner of her eye, Drew, edging his way toward Ash, who was switching between watching his two friends make fools of themselves and staring at his pokegear and typing on it. May changed her position so that she could listen in on the impending conversation.

"Messaging?" Drew asked nonchalantly as he stepped next to Ash. Ash chuckled sheepishly and put the device away.

"Yeah, just filling Misty in on what's going on." May couldn't help but think Drew's reply of, "Oh, right," sounded rather relived.

"I wanted to thank you for coming. I know it must've been tough to pull off, but it means a lot to her." Drew said.

"It's no problem at all." Ash assured him. May did a quick twirl to see the grin on Ash's face. He was still taller than Drew by a little, a fact it seemed Drew was very aware of.

"She's the only one I haven't seen. I wish Misty could've come too, she's really been wanting to see May, but she couldn't get away." Ash shrugged.

"Yeah, you travel around with someone that long, they become like family, don't they." Drew observed. He sounded a little uncomfortable.

"They do. I've got a few little sisters accumulated from over the years." Ash said with knowing in his voice. "And I'm going to look out for all of them." he added, a little harsher. May caught the look of horror on Drew's face as Ash tried not to blow it and smile. She laughed, and Dawn did too, thinking it was part of the fun.

"I understand." Drew said. "And I appreciate that." May stopped dancing, smiling broadly.

"Hey Drew, about the-"

"May!" May whipped around to stare at Dawn, who was flushed and grinning. "You're mom says there's cake." May couldn't help herself, cake was her weakness, and she never heard what Ash was wondering about.

"Let's get you into outfit two." Sasha said softly. She pulled May roughly along behind her, leaving Katja with the photographer.

"You're leaving things out." Sasha hissed as she tore through racks.

"I know I am." May said simply. "I'm only telling the parts that pertain to what he did at the Grand Festival. You don't need to know every detail about my life and neither do Katja's readers." Sasha frowned.

"Fine." she snapped, and pressed a new outfit into May's arms. "Change." May rolled her eyes and went behind her screen. She pulled on the dark red sundress that ended just above her knees. It cinched at her waist and, thankfully, had straps. Sasha had included a new set of gloves, blue and fingerless, and dark blue ballet flats.

"Here's your original bandana, it goes on your left wrist." Sasha said, handing the red cloth to May. "Also, Jsuhon wants pigtails, go." she jabbed a finger toward the hairdresser, and May marched toward him. He formed her new, solid hair into two sleek, low-tied ponytails. The look was nothing like her old one, and May thought, as she looked at herself, that she hoped she got to keep the extensions.

"May dear!" Katja called. "We need you back here!" May grinned at her reflection one last time before going back to the set. It felt a little silly at first, all the posing, but now May was really beginning to have a good time. It wouldn't be so bad, doing this all the time, if it was only just pictures and dress up, but Katja just had to ruin the fun.

"So darling, that five ribbon contest. It was quite the novel idea, and is, from what I hear, going to become an annual event." May nodded. "Perhaps though, it won't be quite as...prophetic each year." May grinned.

"Well I sure hope not, how boring would that get?" she said.

"Why don't you take us through that day, in your own words?" May sighed, eyeing Katja's pink recorder warily...

So, thank you to everyone who read and favorited/followed this on a simple little prologue! It was rather difficult to find a place to break this. Originally this story was only a two parter, and this second part was some 10,600 words, and that was just uncomfortable to read, even for me. So I split it up here at about the half way point. This means that both contests are in the last third, so I guess it will just be the most exciting! Thanks for reading, and if you're up to it, leave a review

STL


	3. Chapter 3

So here's the final part. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story. Enjoy the actual meat of this story

The day of the contest dawned bright, and a bit too early for May's taste. A late night had not helped her pre-existing disdain for mornings. Luckily for May, Dawn shared her feelings.

"Make it go away." Dawn groaned, rolling over in her cot and pulling her blanket over her head. May opened her eyes to slits and gazed around the irksomely east facing room. It still looked almost exactly the same as it had when she was ten since she hadn't been home long enough to change it over the last 12 years. She frowned and sat up. As she looked to her left a frame on her nightstand caught her eye.

It was a very, very old picture of her and Drew, facing each other across the contest stage. May didn't know which contest it was from, but she rolled her eyes all the same, remembering that her mother had put it there in a strange attempt to try and convince May to pursue her rival, in what way she still wasn't really sure.

"Breakfast!" May's eyes widened, and before Dawn could finish her sleepy yawn of, "What?" she was out the door and face to face with Max. The siblings stared each other down, then the same thought occurred to both of them.

"Ash!" they said in a panic, and ran, pushing and shoving their way down the stairs.

As they feared, Ash was already at the table. Unlike they expected however, he was sitting calmly, buttering one of the two pancakes still sitting intact on his full plate.

"What?" he said confusedly, looking back at the Maple kids' dumbfounded stares.

"It's...still on your plate." May said in an almost questioning way.

"So?" Ash stared at her.

"Are you an alien?"

"Max!" Caroline reprimanded sharply.

"That is actually a fair question." Brock said as he entered, walked past May and Max, and sat down.

"Well, you haven't seen me in awhile. I don't walk all over the world anymore you know, and I'm done growing. I can eat more like a normal person now." Ash said, now cutting up the pancakes into small squares.

"Unfreeze and eat you two." May and Max obeyed their mother and sat, pulling different foods toward themselves. After a few minutes, Drew appeared.

"Oh, still some food left huh?" he said. Drew had never spent enough time around Ash for this statement to be about him, so May knew Drew's jab was meant for her and she glared daggers at him. Drew laughed. May's attempt at anger had been slightly dampened by the fact that her mouth was entirely full of pancake.

Dawn was next to come down, the last of the guests that had remained at the Maple's home overnight. Her hair was perfect and shiny despite the fact that she was still in her pajamas.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting to get any food with both of you down here." she said.

"Really?" May shouted incredulously. Ash also made a noise of annoyance while Brock, Drew, and Max sniggered. Dawn shrugged and sat down.

"So, a pre-Grand Festival." Caroline began, trying to break the ridiculous tension. "Should be great. I can't wait to see you kids compete again." she said dreamily.

"Yeah, wish I could." Ash said.

"What?" Dawn and May chorused. Ash looked embarrassed.

"Sorry, I have to get back on the road. I've got an appearance in LaRousse at the Battle Tower. I hate giving speeches." He said, clearly having made this complaint several times. Both girls frowned.

"Well at least we got to see you for a day." May said, absolutely disheartened by this news.

"I'll be rooting for both of you." Ash said quickly.

"Not that there's anything to win." Max mumbled. All three coordinators shot him a dirty look.

"Well," said Caroline, glancing at the wall clock, "You had better get dressed and get going." There was a shuffling of chairs and bodies as they stood. Twenty minutes later, they all re-entered the kitchen, and Norman had finally appeared.

"Ah, good." he said.

"Well, I guess we should go." Dawn said. The group set off, but Drew stayed put. May looked back at him curiously.

"I'll, uh, let you all say good-bye," he said awkwardly, "and catch-up." May smiled at him. He was being incredibly nice lately. It probably would have been weird for him, watching all the old traveling companions saying good-bye to Ash. It was great of him to let them have their moment.

May continued outside to find Brock, Max, Dawn, and Ash who abruptly stopped speaking as she approached.

"What?" she asked, scrutinizing the forced innocence of their expressions.

"What?" Dawn repeated.

"O...kay?" May said.

"I'm going to miss you guys." Ash said loudly. May grinned at the blatant attempt to change the subject.

"We just don't see much of you anymore." Brock said.

"Comes with the job I guess." Ash shrugged.

"But you sure find time to be in Cerulean City." Max said suggestively. Everyone laughed as Ash frowned.

"Hey, he finally figured it out, at least he's taking a positive step." Dawn said through her giggles.

"Yeah, well, what about May? She was worse than me and she's a girl! Girls are supposed to know about all this stuff, but she's never been able to read Drew. Even now she doesn't- ah!" Ash couldn't finish his sentence as Dawn and Brock tackled him and covered his mouth with their hands. May stared at them.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Oh, you know Ash, just being...him." Brock said. May frowned, not buying it.

"I-"

"Are you guys ready?" Drew had come out into the yard, and Ash, Brock and Dawn sprang up and put their innocent faces back on. May turned to give Drew an incredulous look, but was taken aback. He looked absolutely ecstatic, but also like he was going to be sick.

"What's up with you?" she almost screamed in frustration at everyone trying to look so normal, and exchanging looks like she couldn't see them. May finally lost her temper.

"If you guys are going to keep keeping secrets from me then I don't wanna be around you! Have fun on your stupid world tour." She shot each of them a venomous look and stormed off toward the temporary stadium.

"I bet you regret that." Sasha broke into May's story. May looked at her.

"Of course I do."

"Well, just given what happened to Ash Ketchum right after." May glared icily at Sasha.

"That wasn't until after the Grand Festival, which he was at by the way."

"I cannot believe you would say such a thing." Katja hissed angrily.

"He's going to be fine, what does it matter?" Both May and Katja were now glaring at the stylist.

"Out." Katja ordered.

"What?" Sasha asked in shock.

"You heard me." Katja said coldly.

"But you haven't even gotten to the good part." Sasha protested.

"You'll just have to read with everyone else. Go, now." Sasha looked to May, who kept her expression hard.

"Fine." she spun fiercely, her long pink hair almost hitting Katja across the face, and strode from the room.

"I'm sorry for her dear." Katja said quickly. "I'm sure this has been a difficult time for you. I'm very glad he is going to make a full recovery."

"Thanks." May said stiffly, not really sure of what else she should say on the matter.

"So, the contest darling." Katja prodded.

May sat on the sidelines of the field outside the stadium, glaring at the grass.

"Glay Glay." her Glaceon began to nudge her, asking for attention.

"Sorry, I'm just a little upset." May said, accenting the emotion by pulling up a hunk of grass and throwing it as hard as she could.

"Yeah, I can see that." May looked up quickly at a boy with auburn hair and an Empoleon by his side.

"Oh, well..." May began awkwardly. The boy sat down next to her. "It's ok, I didn't mean to intrude. I'm Kenny by the way." he said with a grin.

"May." she said. She looked at Kenny and his Empoleon. He was wearing the same look of shocked recognition.

"You're _that_ May." he said.

"And you're _that_ Kenny." she said with a grin. "It's weird. I've never met you, but I feel like I ... know you." May said.

"Really? How much does she talk about me?" Kenny asked.

"Enough that I'm shocked we've never met each other." May said. They both laughed.

"I've heard a lot about you too. I've even met Drew, so that's another thing to add to it being crazy we haven't met." Kenny laughed, but May stared back at the grass.

"So...you're upset because of him then." Kenny concluded.

"Partly." May said shortly.

"Wanna talk about it?" Kenny asked with a shrug. May shook her head, but then realized that she really did want to talk about it, and here Kenny was, the perfect person to talk to. He knew everyone involved, but still felt a little bit like a stranger.

"They aren't telling me something." she said angrily. "Max, Dawn, Drew, even Ash; they're all keeping something big from me and it's driving me crazy."

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing." Kenny said.

"What?" May asked incredulously. Kenny waited a moment, apparently thinking through his words.

"Maybe they have a reason, and you won't be in the dark forever."

May thought back to the Petalburg surprise.

"Well either they need to get better at keeping secrets or stop surprising me. I'm really starting to hate surprises." Kenny laughed.

"I think you'll be okay." May looked up at him quickly.

"Do you know?" she asked.

"How would I?" he countered.

"Dawn _usually_ has a big mouth." May muttered moodily. Kenny laughed again.

"She did tell me this was all your idea." May looked back up for a third time.

"What?"

"Drew told her you came up with this when he was telling her about it on the phone."

"Were you with her?" May asked, sidetracked. Kenny turned red.

"Well, I...I mean, yeah." he stuttered as May grinned.

"Coordinators to the staging area." A chipper female voice came from the speakers all around.

"Time to go I guess." May and Kenny both stood, May returned Glaceon, and Kenny Empoleon. They walked together in silence back to the ready room. As they entered May noticed that there weren't many Coordinators there, maybe 20, but that she knew almost all of them. Drew and Dawn both gave her strange looks. She wondered why until she remembered that Kenny was with her.

She was still angry; especially when she thought about how she left and that that was the last time she was going to see Ash for a long time. She turned her nose up and stomped off as far away from the two of them as she could go. Kenny followed her.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked her. May did not open her eyes, and merely huffed haughtily. "Well, they're on their way over." Kenny informed her. May looked over her shoulder. Dawn and Drew were in fact starting to move, but slowly, looking unsure.

"The order has been posted!" The same female voice announced. Everyone looked around to the large bulletin board on one of the walls. May and Kenny didn't make a move, though the other 18 coordinators did.

"First up, it's Dawn!" May looked around again, toward the entrance to the stage. Since they were in Hoenn, Vivian's voice came floating in from beyond the opening. Dawn walked toward it, and had to go past May and Kenny to do so. She looked nervously at the two of them.

"Good Luck DeeDee!" Kenny said. Dawn's nervous look instantly vanished and she glared at Kenny.

"You're lucky I've got to go out there." she hissed.

It took half an hour to get through 18 coordinators, and none of them had returned to the staging room. Apparently there was another place for them to go. However, this had left May in a very tough spot...she and Drew were the last two to go.

"So May." Drew tried. The two were sitting as far as possible away from each other, and May had yet to even face him. She didn't when he addressed her either.

"About what happened back there..." he began again.

"Drew, I've got an appeal to think about." May snapped.

"And now, it's the princess of Hoenn herself, May!" May stood with as much dignity she could muster and strutted from the room.

"Good luck May." Drew said from behind her. May paused for the briefest moment, considering looking back at him. She decided against it however, and proceeded out onto the stage to the roar of her hometown crowd.

"Alright, Delcatty, take the stage!" May's evolved Skitty burst forth in a flash of light, purring it's name and looking dignified.

"And May's chosen Delcatty, the prim Pokemon!" Vivian announced. The crowd ooed and awwed.

"Now Delcatty, sunny day!" May commanded. The temporary stage did not have a roof, and so a blinding light filled the area, sparkling off Delcatty.

"Just beautiful!" Vivian said.

"Now, Blizzard!" May continued. A shower of snow filled the stage, reflecting the intense sunlight, sending rainbows bouncing all around.

"Assist!" May heard an audible groan from behind her, and spared Drew one quick back glance to see that he was standing in the doorway, and had a hand to his forehead. He had often made his opinion of May's use of the unpredictable attack well known. But May had had twelve years to really figure out what she was doing, and she smirked and turned back to Delcatty, who had begun it's attack.

"And it's a fire spin! That sunny day is really taking this to a new level!" Vivian shouted excitedly, watching in wonder like everyone else, and the wall of fire that had erupted around Delcatty, who had leapt to the top of the tower of flame. Delcatty landed delicately once the attack dissipated, and both the cat and May took a small bow.

"That was fantastic. It's almost like she knew what assist would do!" Mr. Contesta gushed.

"Remarkable." Sukiso said, predictably.

"I'm still stunned!" said Nurse Joy. May grinned and returned Delcatty before moving toward the second room, this one full of trainers.

"May!" Dawn's yell caught May's attention, but the bluenette stopped short a few feet from May, looking worried.

"That was great." she said softly. May smiled at her.

"Thanks." That was all Dawn was going to get out of her at the moment though, because she was still angry. Dawn seemed to realize this.

"Yeah...well, I'm gonna...uh..." Dawn trailed off and made her way to the door May had just entered through, presumably to watch Drew's appeal. May had no desire to watch him either, and walked off, telling herself that she was going to find a bathroom.

"Wait, you didn't even watch it?" Katja interrupted. May looked up quickly, a bit startled. She kept forgetting Katja was actually listening.

"No, I didn't. I was not in the mood to see anyone at that point. It's not like I haven't seen Drew do appeals a million times." May said.

"But...do you know what it was now?" Katja prodded.

"Does it matter?" May asked, starting to get a little confused.

"Well, I guess not anymore. That was the best apology I've ever seen though, even if it was on T.V." May looked at her quizzically.

"Apology? Well that would explain why he seemed so upset I didn't watch. Who does an appeal as an apology?" May laughed to herself.

"Contests seem to be his main way to express sentiments." Katja said with a smirk. May sighed heavily.

"I'm really going to make him pay for this." May mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Well, let's skip ahead to you two facing off." Katja said. May rolled her eyes.

"Ok, so I had just beaten Harley, and Drew beat Dawn..."

"You do realize that you're going to have to look at him now?" Dawn seemed to have decided not to accept the fact that May didn't want to talk to her, and was acting like nothing was happening, clearly not fazed by the fact that her constant chatter was met by silence. May did at least spare her a sidelong glance.

"Says who?" May finally said. Dawn smiled broadly for a second before answering.

"You're battling him in the final!" she said. "How are you not going to look at your opponent? You'll lose in a second if you can't read what he's doing." May smirked wickedly.

"But I've never been able to read Drew, remember?" she said sarcastically. Dawn's face fell.

"Come on May, it's not-" Dawn began.

"Save it, I've gotta go kick his butt." May said, striding off.

"And here we have it folks! The first ever five-ribbon contest comes down to its creators, Hoenn's own prince and princess, Drew and May!" There was a deafening roar as May and Drew each stepped onto the battlefield. May looked at him full in the face for the first time since breakfast. He was staring at her, looking an odd combination of hurt and determined. May rolled her eyes and sighed.

"This promises to be a great battle, these two always put on a show! So, five minutes on the clock! Let's go!" Vivian announced. Since this wasn't technically a grand festival, they could still only use one pokemon, and seeing as they were in Hoenn, their hands were tied on who to use.

"Delcatty, take the stage!" May called.

"Go, Roserade!" May grinned a little. How predictable. It didn't even matter that she had skipped his appeal.

"Delcatty, shadow ball!" May commanded, starting the match. Almost instantly the cat-like Pokémon shot off a ball of dark energy, headed straight for Roserade.

"Petal dance!" Drew called. If May didn't know any better she would swear that Drew was doing this on purpose. Petal dance to deflect the shadow ball, how typical?

"Put some more into it Delcatty!" May called. Her Delcatty shot another shadow ball right behind the first, which had stalled at the vortex of pink petals. The three attacks collided, and the shadow balls pushed through.

"Dodge!" Drew ordered. Roserade managed to avoid most of the damage, but was partially hit, as were Drew's points.

"Solar beam!" he said. Roserade rolled on the ground, almost like a roll-out attack, and shot the beam at Delcatty from the ground. May hadn't noticed this in time to counter, and Delcatty was engulfed in the blinding light.

"Blizzard!" she shouted, once it became apparent that Delcatty was still standing. The field was engulfed in snow, so that there was nowhere for Roserade to go to avoid the attack. May and Drew were now even in points.

 _This isn't working. We know everything about each other, we train together._ May thought, desperately trying to think of something she had never told Drew, never shown him. Then she remembered, she had never told him about her secret to assist.

"Delcatty, assist!" she cried triumphantly.

"Really May, still relying on luck?" Drew called out to her.

"Maybe you're not the only one who can keep secrets Drew!" she retorted. Seconds later, she smirked as Delcatty glowed red.

"It's overheat!" Vivian announced, but not in time. Roserade was engulfed in the powerful flame that no one but May had been expecting. By the time it was over, Drew had only about a quarter of his points left. He glared at May.

"Magical leaf!" he commanded. Roserade complied, and Delcatty was quickly surrounded in stinging leaves.

"This two are sending off moves so fast it's making my head spin!" Vivian said as the leaves dissipated.

"Double team, then assist!" May called out. Dozens of Delcatty's surrounded Roserade, who eyed them warily.

"Send a solar beam at all of them!" Drew said. Roserade began to spin, the bright white light spouting from both rose hands. Several of the Delcatty vanished, but several more had leapt into the air, their paws glowing. They all came crashing down on Roserade at once, a multiple Pokemon mega kick.

"Times up!" Vivian called. The crowd was once again deafening. Drew had a small sliver of points left. May had a quarter. May had won.

"Congratulations May! You are the first ever winner of the all-region five ribbon contest!" Vivian shouted above the roar. May looked over to Drew, who was now kneeling next to Roserade. She stepped out onto the field, walking until she too knelt down next to the rose Pokemon, her Delcatty close behind her.

"Sorry Roserade. I didn't mean to be that harsh on you, but we all know how infuriating your trainer can get." She told her with a grin.

"Rose, rose. Roserade!" it said. Drew scowled, clearly the Pokémon was agreeing.

"Return Roserade, you should rest." Drew said, and Roserade vanished in a flash of red.

"You too Delcatty, great job."

"So..." May began. Drew looked the angriest May had seen him in months.

"Oh, now _you're_ not talking to _me_?" She said after a few seconds of silence. Drew simply stood to face the crowd. May copied him, only just remembering they were there. After a moment, Drew walked off. May was hot on his heels.

"That was so great!" Dawn was waiting for the two of them, not noticing their demeanors. "And I'm so glad you two are over this silly not talking, I...wait, Drew, May?" Dawn stopped talking. Drew had walked past her without so much as a glance. May had also kept going, following him until he reached the door for the men's room, which shut in her face.

"What just happened? He's mad at you now? I mean really, how many times have you beaten him? This is-"

"I think it's more about the way I won." May said, eyeing the door Drew had vanished through.

"What does that mean?" Dawn asked, apparently choosing not to remark on the fact that May was now speaking to her too.

"I may have said something I shouldn't have out there." May said sheepishly. "I was angry, it was the heat of the moment, but still."

"What did you say?"

"I said, maybe you're not the only one who can keep secrets." Dawns face fell as she gave May an incredulous look.

"May, you didn't!"

"I know, I know! I shouldn't have said it!" May wailed, sitting down heavily on one of the benches.

"But what were you-" Dawn was cut off however, as Max, Caroline, and Norman came in.

"Oh sweetie, that was fantastic!" Caroline gushed, pulling her daughter onto her feet with a hug.

"You got pretty lucky there with that assist." Max observed.

"Luck had nothing to do with it." May announced, extracting herself from the hug.

"What are you talking about, assist is pure luck." Max countered. May grinned.

"Not once you figure it out. Assist uses one of the moves from one of the Pokémon you have in your team at the time."

"Right." Max said, nodding.

"Well, if you control the team, you control the assist. Blazekin is the only other Pokémon I've got officially on my team right now, so I knew Delcatty would use Blazekin's moves. Not only that, it follows a pattern, so now, I have figured out a way to know exactly what will happen when I use assist."

Max looked absolutely stunned, and he wasn't the only one.

"How did you figure that out before me!" Max finally said, then he laughed.

"Good job." May looked around Max. Drew had come out of the bathroom, and apparently heard her explanation. "I'm impressed. Even more impressed you managed to keep me from finding out you discovered it." he didn't sound angry, but his tone of voice was dangerous.

"Drew, I didn't think it was a big deal, none of your Pokémon know assist, and I wasn't 100% on it, and..." May babbled, trying to explain herself. Drew shook his head.

"May, it's fine, but it has opened my eyes." he said. He had yet to look at anyone, having chosen instead to look at the floor.

"What?" May asked, fear creeping into her voice.

"I think we should split up for awhile, until the Grand Festival. We know too much about each other. You can't have a rival who knows all the tricks you've got. This way we have a month to work out new things. Things the other doesn't know about." A lesser-trained ear wouldn't have heard the quake in his voice. May knew better, and she couldn't stop the pricking feeling in her eyes.

"Well, he has a good point." Norman said. May's eyes snapped to her father, and she couldn't help her glare. "It'll be good to work on your training without your biggest competition right over your shoulder."

"So, it's settled then. See you in a month May." Drew finally looked at her. So many emotions were burning in his green eyes that May couldn't think of anything else. He nodded, and turned to leave.

"Bye Drew." May said, unable to move as she watched him go.

May looked up quickly at the sound of someone blowing their nose.

"That...was so sad." Friedrich sobbed, lowering the camera. May couldn't help but smile.

"Well, the more I thought about it, the more he was right. I even had the thought myself. The, 'we know too much' one, not the 'we should split up' one." May said.

"A whole month away from your best friend! How tragic!" May was really starting to like Friedrich. He was silly.

"I have learned over the years just how hard it is to be away from friends. Really a month was nothing." May said, though she knew it was a lie. That had been one of the toughest months of her life, and if Dawn hadn't agreed to come back to Sinnoh with May, despite the fact that she was set to enter the Hoenn grand festival only one week later, May didn't know how she would have managed. To this day she didn't know what Drew had done during that month. She had never had the heart to bring it up.

"So this brings us up to the Grand Festival." Katja said, unable to hide her excitement. "Of course, we all saw the whole thing. Your stunning appeal with Bellossom and Glaceon, your thrilling defeat of Solidad, and all the others. We saw Drew impress with Vespiquen and Absol, and of course we saw him just rip through the competition..." May clenched her fists, afraid of what was coming.

"And then, that final round. Of course no one was surprised to see you two going head to head yet again, but I don't think anyone was aware of the fact that you two weren't together in the weeks leading up to it. Some have even said that the whole thing was staged." Katja raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Well, it wasn't staged. I hadn't seen him since the five-ribbon contest, and we didn't even speak during the grand festival. I don't know what he was thinking, but I defiantly had no hand in it." May said fiercely.

"Take us through that last match." Katja said.

May stood in the ready room for her side of the field. She had insisted that her parents and friends remain in the stands prior to the battle. She should have been confident and she knew it. She had just managed to beat Solidad for the first time ever, and had destroyed Drew the last time they had battled. But then she had watched the way he had decimated the field. It was scary, and he was using Pokémon that she hadn't seen since he had caught them, if at all. It was just like the old days, facing an adversary she knew but didn't at the same time.

"And now the coordinators for the final round of the Sinnoh grand festival!" May looked up as Marian began to speak to the crowd. "Both our contestants come from the Hoenn region, on this side, from Petalburg City, it's May!"

May forced a determined smile onto her face and ran out onto the contest stage. She was wearing a calf-length light blue dress with more ruffles than she really cared to think about. She concentrated hard on not falling and cursed Dawn for convincing her to wear heels when she knew how clumsy she was. There was a delicate tiara, also Dawn's idea, perched on top of her brown hair that was pulled back into a high ponytail. She waved as the crowd cheered, and waited for Drew to appear.

"And on this side, from LaRousse City, it's Drew!" May gasped a little as Drew came sauntering out of his tunnel, waving lazily. He was wearing a formal tuxedo, which was not what he had been wearing the rest of the festival. He looked more dapper than May could ever remember seeing him, and she had to remind herself that she was here to battle him.

"Luxio, Scizor, come on out!" Drew said, releasing his two Pokémon. May took a deep breath.

"Snover, Ampharos, take the stage!" She twirled as she released her own team, and she just caught Drew's smirk. He loved to tease her about the twirling.

"Alright now, five minutes on the clock. Go!"

"Let's start it off strong with a supercharged Ice beam!" May commanded. Snover shot off a powerful looking ice beam while at the same time, Ampharos released a thundershock, and the two combined as they headed for Drew's pokemon.

"Iron Defense Scizor, and Protect Luxio!" Drew called. A series of barriers sprang up, and the ice beam and thundershock combo was dissipated into the air, resulting in a collective gasp from the crowd.

"Both of you, use attract!" May said enthusiastically, remembering that Drew's Luxio was a male. She was unsure of Scizor.

As it turned out, Scizor was unaffected. The power of the double attract hitting Luxio however, was immediate and paralyzing. May grinned in triumph, but faltered as she looked at Drew. Somehow it looked like he, too, had been hit by the attack. He was simply staring across the field at May, his brow furrowed in concentration. People couldn't be affect by attract, could they?

After another moment's hesitation, in which even Scizor looked confusedly back at its trainer, May regained herself.

"Ampharos, used thunder on Scizor!" The steel bug Pokémon looked back at its trainer again for a split second, a split second too long. It was hit full on with the electric attack, and fell to its knees, gripping it's stomach.

"Drew what are you doing?!" May shouted finally. Drew blinked, and then looked up at her. She gave him an incredulous look, throwing her hands out in front of her. "We're battling here!"

And then it happened. The first time it had ever happened in the history of contests. A competitor in the Grand Festival finals walked out onto the field.

The crowd gasped collectively as a loud buzzer sounded, and Drew kept walking.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing folks." Marian said. "Drew has just walked onto the field, forfeiting the match, and making May the Sinnoh Grand Festival champion!"

May barely heard this. Drew was coming right at her, staring her down. She didn't know why, but something about the whole situation made her cheeks burn, and she wasn't sure it was embarrassment. And then, without a word, without returning any Pokémon, or acknowledging the audience in any way, Drew grabbed May's hand, and began to pull her off the field toward the waiting room.

"I don't really know what made me do it right then. It seems a little cliché to say what was really going through my head, but I could just, hear this music. There wasn't a battle going on, there wasn't a crowd or judges, there was just me and her, standing there a battlefield apart. I knew I had to do it then, and so I did. I pulled her back to the trainer's room, and next thing I knew, _I was on one knee?"_

May finished reading aloud, spitting out the last words of Drew's quote like she could not believe them. Drew smirked, but his face was quickly covered as May threw the magazine onto his face.

"You told me that I couldn't say anything about any of that! You even tried to convince me not to wear my ring to the interview! What was the point of all of that if you were just going to go and tell her yourself?" May fumed. Drew pulled the glossy issue of _Pokémon_ off of his face and grinned.

"I wanted to surprise you with it, and you told me that I needed to get better at surprises. I would say this one went quite well." he said, smirking at her.

"Well..." May began.

"And, it made it so the two parts went together really well. You told one part, I told the other."

"You got the romantic part though! In my story I didn't even mention that we had been dating since the Wallace Cup ended! I left out all the stuff about the appearances, and keeping it a secret, and when I found out it was in Petalburg." May listed off.

"Well like I said, I tell those parts better." Drew shrugged. May growled and plopped down on the sofa next to Drew. She looked down at the fancy engagement ring that was back on her left hand where it belonged.

"Remind me again why I said yes?" she said. Drew didn't answer, and May turned to face him. He was looking at her, his green eyes smoldering beneath his equally green hair that had fallen into them when he leaned forward. Before May really knew what was happening, his lips were on hers, and she forgot for a second what they had been talking about.

"Oh...right." she said after he released her.

Drew smiled and laughed.

So that's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed it. Like I said at the beginning, this was a bit of a pet project for me before I quit writing, and I thought it would be a perfect first step back into the fanfiction world. (It's changed a lot since I've been gone. Catching up is going to be tough! Like, geez, so many other sites and tumblr and cross posting and art. Good grief.) Hopefully this was just the beginning and I'll be back to a place that my 14 year old self who started all this will be proud of. Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, anything at all! Be on the lookout for future stories!

STL


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